Inter-Cultural Dimensions

Rubins vase

Hofstedes definition:collective mental programming or the software of mind.Stereotype = a fixed idea or image that many people have ofa particular type of person or thing, but which is not true inreality.In intercultural communication it is important to distinguishbetween a persons cultural background and personality.

Culture refers to the cumulative deposit

of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values,attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles,spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects andpossessions acquired by a group of people in the course ofgenerations through individual and group striving. Culture is the sum total of the learned behavior of a group ofpeople that are generally considered to be the tradition of thatpeople and are transmitted from generation to generation. Culture is a collective programming of the mind thatdistinguishes the members of one group or category of peoplefrom another

Globalization means that there is now one business

culture everywhere in the world.If they want to do business with me, they will have toadapt to my culture.It is impossible to generalize about cultures there aretoo many.Intercultural training just confirms stereotypes

PERSONALITY

CULTUREHUMAN NATURE

We know we are living in a global age.

Technology has brought the world muchcloser together. This means that people ofdifferent cultures find themselves workingtogether and communicating more and more.

This is exciting and interesting, but it can also be frustrating

and fraught with uncertainty. How do you relate to someone ofanother culture? What do you say, or not say, to start aconversation off right? Are there cultural taboos you need tobe aware of?

Building connections with people from around the world is

just one dimension of cultural diversity. You also have issueslike motivating people, structuring projects, and developingstrategy.What works in one location may or may not work somewhereelse. The question is, "How can I come to understand thesecultural differences?" Are we relegated to learning from ourmistakes or are there generalized guidelines to follow?

National cultures can be described according to the analysis

of Geert Hofstede - an influential Dutch writer on theinteractions between national cultures and organizationalcultures.His ideas were based on a large research project intonational culture differences in a multinational corporation(IBM) in 64 countries. Subsequent studies by otherscovered students in 23 countries, elites in 19 countries,commercial airline pilots in 23 countries, up-marketconsumers in 15 countries, and civil service managers in 14countries.

With access to people working for the same organization in

over 40 countries of the world, Hofstede collected culturaldata and analyzed his findings. He initially identified fourdistinct cultural dimensions that served to distinguish oneculture from another. Later he added a fifth dimension and thatis how the model stands today.He scored each country using a scale of roughly 0 to 100 foreach dimension. The higher the score, the more that dimensionis exhibited in society.

Power Dstance Index

Individualism vs. Collectivism Masulinity vs. Femininity Uncertainty Avoidance Index Long Term Orientation Indulgence vs. RestraintThe Hofstede Model of Cultural Dimensions can be of greatuse when it comes to analyzing a countrys culture. Thereare however a few things one has to keep in mind.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNntW_DA0x0

Hofstedes Power distance Index measures the extent

to which the less powerful members of organizationsand institutions (like the family) accept and expect thatpower is distributed unequally.This represents inequality (more versus less), butdefined from below, not from above. It suggests that asocietys level of inequality is endorsed by thefollowers as much as by the leaders.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqaa42gbqhA

High PD - CharacteristicsCentralized companies.Strong hierarchies.Large gaps in compensation, authority, and respect.High PD - TipsAcknowledge a leader's power.Be aware that you may need to go to the top for answers

Low PD - CharacteristicsFlatter organizations.Supervisors and employees are considered almost as equals.

Low PD - Tips

Use teamworkInvolve as many people as possible in decision making.

For example, Germany has a 35 on the cultural scale of

Hofstedes analysis.Compared to Arab countries where the power distance isvery high (80) and Austria where it very low (11), Germanyis somewhat in the middle.Germany does not have a large gap between the wealthyand the poor, but have a strong belief in equality for eachcitizen. Germans have the opportunity to rise in society.

On the other hand, the power distance in the United

States scores a 40 on the cultural scale. The UnitedStates exhibits a more unequal distribution of wealthcompared to German society. As the years go by itseems that the distance between the have and havenots grows larger and larger.

Individualism is the opposite of collectivism, that is the degree to

which individuals are integrated into groups.

On the individualist side we find societies in which the ties

between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look afterhim/herself and his/her immediate family.

For example, Germany can be considered as individualistic

with a high score (89) on the scale of Hofstede compared toa country like Guatemala where they have strongcollectivism (6 on the scale).

In Germany people stress on personal achievements and

individual rights. Germans expect from each other to fulfilltheir own needs. Group work is important, but everybodyhas the right of his own opinion an is expected to reflectthose. In an individual country like Germany people tend tohave more loose relationships than countries where there isa collectivism where people have large extended families.

The United States can clearly be seen as

individualistic (scoring a 91). The American dream isclearly a representation of this. This is the Americanshope for a better quality of life and a higher standard ofliving than their parents. This belief is that anyone,regardless of their status can pull up their boot strapsand raise themselves from poverty.

Masculinity versus femininity refers to the distribution of roles

between the genders . The IBM studies revealed that:(a) womens values differ less among societies than mensvalues;(b) mens values from one country to another contain adimension from very assertive and competitive and maximallydifferent from womens values on the one side, to modest andcaring and similar to womens values on the other.The assertive pole has been called masculine and the modest,caring pole feminine.

For example, Germany has a masculine culture with a

66 on the scale of Hofstede (Netherlands 14).Masculine traits include assertiveness,materialism/material success, self-centeredness, power,strength, and individual achievements. The UnitedStates scored a 62 on Hofstedes scale. So these twocultures share, in terms of masculinity, similar values.

Uncertainty avoidance deals with a societys tolerance for

uncertainty and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to manssearch for Truth.It indicates to what extent a culture programs its membersto feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructuredsituations. Unstructured situations are novel, unknown,surprising, and different from usual.Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to minimize thepossibility of such situations by strict laws and rules, safetyand security measures, and on the philosophical andreligious level by a belief in absolute Truth; there can onlybe one Truth and we have it.

High UAI - people with high UAI work well within a

structured environment, under strict laws, rules andguidelines.In a high UAI workplace, employees perform at their bestwith clear directives and follow standards & procedures.Low UAI - people with low UAI can tolerate uncertaintyand welcome freedom of opinions, try to have as few rulesas possible.In a low UAI workplace, employees tend to "go with theflow," are more flexible and do not require instructions andrules to perform well.

For example, in Germany there is a reasonable high

uncertainty avoidance (65) compared to countries asSingapore (8) and neighboring country Denmark (23).Germans are not to keen on uncertainty, by planningeverything carefully they try to avoid the uncertainty. InGermany there is a society that relies on rules, laws andregulations. Germany wants to reduce its risks to theminimum and proceed with changes step by step.The United States scores a 46 compared to the 65 of theGerman culture. Uncertainty avoidance in the US isrelatively low, which can clearly be viewed through thenational cultures.

Long-Term Orientation is the fifth

dimension of Hofstede which was added after the originalfour to try to distinguish the difference in thinking betweenthe East and West.From the original IBM studies, this difference wassomething that could not be deduced.Therefore, Hofstede created a Chinese value survey whichwas distributed across 23 countries. From these results, andwith an understanding of the influence of the teaching ofConfucius on the East, long term vs. short termorientation became the fifth cultural dimension.

Long term orientation

-persistence-ordering relationships by status and observing thisorder-thrift-having a sense of shameShort term orientation-personal steadiness and stability-protecting your face-respect or tradition-reciprocation of greetings, favors, and gifts

LTO refers to the degree to which the society upholds

traditional values. High or low dimensions predisposecountries to resist or accept change.High LTO - In a high LTO workplace, the society isentrenched in traditions of yore, which often means thatlong term commitments and hard work as a plan forfuture rewards outweigh the need for rapid change.Low LTO - In a low LTO workplace, a society changecan occur faster since long term traditions do notimpede them.

Indulgence stands for a society that allows relatively

free gratification of basic and natural human drivesrelated to enjoying life and having fun.

Restraint stands for a society that suppresses

gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strictsocial norms.

In response to a disability, individuals from a culture of

indulgence feel that they have control over their future levelof function and participation in life activities;Individuals from a background of cultural restraint mayhave a sense of helplessness and be less actively involved intaking control over their involvement in functionalactivities outside of the clinic.Additionally, in cultures valuing restraint, leisure activitiesare of lesser value, which may prove important to considerin selecting functional therapy activities. Cultures valuingindulgence place higher importance on leisure and soactivities considered enjoyable may be more appropriate forindividuals with this cultural trait.

Indulgent cultures (such as Mexico and the USA) tend

to be happier, more optimistic and extrovert. Theyplace a high value on friendship, leisure time andhealth, and believe that it's important to have controlover your own life.Restrained cultures, on the other hand (such as Egypt)tend to take a more frugal and cynical outlook,favouring moral discipline and believingthat gratification should be repressed. These are oftenvery religious cultures, formed of tightly-knitcommunities.

Tips for Indulgent cultures:

Emphasise how you serve the community

Frugal, show how they can save moneyStrict, cultured gender rolesWebsite should be structured, predictableUse formal communication

Key Points:Cultural norms play a large part in the mechanics andinterpersonal relationships at work. When you grow up in aculture you take your norms of behavior for granted. Youdon't have to think about your reactions, preferences, andfeelings.When you step into a foreign culture, suddenly things seemdifferent. You don't know what to do or say. UsingHofstede's Cultural Dimensions as a starting point, you canevaluate your approach, your decisions, and actions basedon a general sense of how the society might think and reactto you.

We readily acknowledge that cultural

differences exist. It is apparent looking at cities like Shanghaiand Sydney that the differences are profound. Yet, within abusiness context we often think that the differences have fadedaway to be replaced with a generic international businessculture, one-size-fits-all from Sydney to Shanghai toStockholm.This perception is often supported by our initial view ofbusiness in those cities. Businesspeople dress similarly andseem to behave similarly. While art and decor have somevariations, the standard office furniture exists in any of theselocations. And yet, a few close observations will reveal thedifferences that do exist.

The furniture and layout of the offices can provide an

indication of the differences. Are the offices open-plan orcubicles? If it is a combination of the two, what positions haveoffices? How are those offices decorated or furnished? Theseaspects can give you an indication of how status is viewed,and who deserves respect. Are the doors open or shut? Eventhe position of the guests chairs in the office can show you theextent of personal space that people feel comfortable with inthis business culture.

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Managers at one American company were startled

when they discovered that the brand name of thecooking oil they were marketing in a Latin Americancountry translated into Spanish as "Jackass Oil.American Motors tried to market its new car, theMatador, based on the image of courage and strength.However, in Puerto Rico the name means "killer" andwas not popular on the hazardous roads in thecountry.

3. A sales manager in Hong Kong tried to control employee's

promptness at work. He insisted they come to work on timeinstead of 15 minutes late. They complied, but then leftexactly on time instead of working into the evening as theypreviously had done. Much work was left unfinished untilthe manager relented and they returned to their usual timeschedule.4. A US telephone company tried to market its products andservices to Latinos by showing a commercial in which aLatino wife tells her husband to call a friend, telling herthey would be late for dinner. The commercial bombedsince Latino women do not order their husbands around andtheir use of time would not require a call about lateness.

5. Proctor & Gamble used a television commercial in Japan

that was popular in Europe. The ad showed a womanbathing, her husband entering the bathroom and touchingher. The Japanese considered this ad an invasion of privacy,inappropriate behavior, and very poor taste.6. An American business person refused an offer of a cup ofcoffee from a Saudi businessman. Such a rejection isconsidered very rude and the business negotiations becamestalled.